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The chairman of the US Federal Reserve last night oversaw a quarter-point rise in American interest rates on the same day that oil prices hit fresh highs.

The result? Shares on the New York market surged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 130 points and returning within striking range of the 10,000 mark.

Then today, Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, released a forecast of the country’s economic performance over the next two years showing a rebound in growth in early 2006 and a flattening out of inflation.